Just This Once
by Hysteric Polaris
Summary: [JxT, PostGame, Spoilers] They were hardened soldiers who had seen the worst the world had to offer and only wished to help each other through it...was it so wrong to want to dispel her Oracle Knight facade and simply be held? Just this once?
1. Stars Keep No Secrets

They were still aboard the Albiore. There was an unexpected delay in their flights home, but they'd all agreed that they would rather take the Albiore home together this one last time, whether it be due to laziness or nostalgia.

This would be their last night together for the time being, Jade thought to himself as he slid off his overcoat and hung it on the coatrack in the corner of the men's barracks. There were only two rooms beside the cockpit in the small Fontech aircraft, and despite their diminuitive size, they were able to set up sleeping arrangements for each gender in each room. Noelle however bunked in the cockpit, embarrassingly enough admitting that she loved the Albiore so much that she sometimes slept in there on purpose anyway, so she was used to it. Despite Guy's gentlemanly insistance that he and Jade'd sacrifice the men's barracks to give her a more fitting place to sleep (without asking Jade's opinion on the matter first, of course), she blatantly refused and hugged the steering wheel happily. Everyone had sweatdropped.

The Colonel chuckled at this memory and paused mid-removal of one of his boots. He stared out the window blankly. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd miss everyone here. It had almost become a habit to awaken to the sound of Luke's suicidal rantings, Anise's overly cheerful demeanor, and Guy's ritualistic panick attacks whenever Tear tried to wake him. A great deal of stress would be lifted from his chest now that this mess was over, but by the same token, he'd lose a lot of the spontaneous adventure that had so suddenly invaded his life.

Jade shook his head and fully removed the boot. He was an old man now...one would think he'd outgrow such childish aspirations of daily action and adventure, especially after all the spontaneous "adventures" he'd suffered throughout his childhood. Hadn't he endured enough "adventure" to last himself a lifetime? And yet...

_Knock, Knock_.

Someone was knocking at the men's "bedroom" door and Guy was sleeping like a log beside him on the floor, one leg bent in the air and his mouth hanging open comically. Maybe he should take the oncoming conversation outside to save Guy from embarrassment?

...Nah.

Jade removed the other boot quickly so that he was only wearing his military regulation black shirt and pants and put his glasses back on. Just as he heard another set of knocks at the door, he opened it only to find Tear with a blanket wrapped around herself. "Good evening..." he began, somewhat puzzled by her random intrusion. "Is there something I can help you with?" He kept his voice low so as to not wake up Guy. Jade had no problem with waking Guy under normal circumstances and embarrassing him for the fun of it, but the intruder being Tear, he had to think twice. Guy would not only awaken embarrassed, but probably freak out that it was a woman in addition and awaken the entire ship with his screams of terror.

"Can I speak with you..." Tear peeked in past Jade and saw Guy sleeping soundly, deducing exactly what Jade had seconds ago. Looking back to Jade, she continued hesitantly. "...outside?"

The Colonel took a minute to consider her invitation and then nodded slightly. "Of course." What harm was there in that? He stepped out of the room quietly, slid on his Resort King slippers that he'd left at the door in case he needed to use the bathroom during the night, and led the way out of the aircraft. It was chilly out, Jade soon discovered, not having considered that beforehand. He had to credit Tear for bringing her blanket with her when she delivered her invitation. She was probably using it as a visual cue to Jade that he should probably grab a jacket or something too...but it seems he was somewhat on the slow side today.

They stood there outside the Albiore for a moment, just waiting for the ice to be broken. Jade's hands were in his pockets as per the usual and Tear's were wrapped tightly in her long blanket which was blowing in the breeze. The stars glittered beautifully in the sky above them and her attention was immediately caught. Her cerulean orbs absolutely glowed when she noticed cute things and it brought a smile to Jade's face...whether that be at the blackmail opportunity or just because it was nice to see a girl her age happy rather than stoic for once. She only had one chance to live her youth, and she shouldn't waste it as he had.

His attention was focused on her as she spied the stars happily; maybe she just needed this moment alone with someone who wasn't insecure, obnoxious, or annoying. He empathized with that obviously and stifled a laugh. It was then that he noticed that her blanket was wrapped around her shoulders rather than over them, revealing the straps of what he could only imagine to be her undershirt or bra. Trying to shake that thought from his head but not look away and signal that he was losing interest in her invitation, he glanced down toward her feet and noticed not even a pair of socks on them. This must've been quite urgent.

Despite her enjoyable stargazing, her smile soon began to fade and her expression hardened once more, donning her soldier visage again. No doubt she was saving this adorable moment to bask in later, or... Maybe the stars reminded her of something depressing that she refused to share? "The stars are beautiful tonight, aren't they Colonel?"

Jade took a moment to absorb her statement, realizing instantly that something was indeed amiss with her if she was making small talk when they could be catching up on well-deserved rest. "Yes, they are," he replied softly, playing along; he gazed upward and attempted to appreciate them as much as she did. Of course, her being herself and him being himself--them being two different people with two different perspectives--he didn't expect to be successful. But trying to understand every perspective of a situation helped one to comprehend it more fully in the longrun, so he persisted. Maybe he could find something out and help her recover from this slump. "Do you know why that is?"

Tear failed to see what he meant by this and automatically assumed that he was going to make another sarcastic retort, recalling a situation similar to this occuring while they explored Mt. Zaleho and were discussing the gender of a certain dragon... The corner of her mouth curled slightly into a frown as she tried to convince herself that he's only using teasing and sarcasm as means to deal with his stress. She just wished that he didn't take it out on _her_ like this...was this her punishment for keeping him awake when he could've been sleeping? "...Why?" she queried finally, mentally sighing as she bit the bait anyway.

"Because they don't try to hide anything from us. They are what they are and nothing more," he answered. She wasn't completely sure of what he was getting at, but was relieved at the lack of a sarcastic reply. If there was ever a time that she could use real support, it was now, which is why she chose to go to Jade in the first place. He may have been a sarcastic bastard most of the time, but he was the one she could relate to the most. Sure, she had Luke, but...she winced at the memory...he was gone now. And he hadn't been through a lot of what she'd endured, so he didn't always understand and _she_ was usually the one who needed to comfort _him_. She didn't mind doing that for him, but what about when she needed guidance herself?

"You can tell, can't you, that the stars keep no secrets?" The Necromancer wasn't one to weave tales like this, but he didn't want to make assumptions about her situation. He knew for a fact that she was hiding something, and the only reason people seek out others in times of need like this are so that they can share their problems and receive consolation. He wasn't keen on being people's shoulder to cry on or anything like that, but he couldn't resist trying to ease her burden even a little. She'd grown on him, as they all had, but he knew that her facade was the same as his, the stone cold facade of a battle-hardened soldier whose true feelings were some of the most safeguarded secrets in the world. They'd both endured the worst of the world, but she wasn't even of age yet; she still had a long, weary life ahead of her, and again, he empathized. He knew what she was in for as a soldier and maybe it was just because he had somewhat acted as a parental figure for the group since their journey began, but he felt more than willing to offer any comfort he could.

But first of course, he had to break through her soldier facade without damaging her pride, which is why he was taking such a roundabout approach to this rather than his typical beeline approach. "If they had anything to hide, I'm sure that they'd at least share it with each other if not with us, because it's unwise to tackle hardships alone. It's almost like on the battlefield..." The Colonel's ruby eyes softened with compassion as he stared on into the mystical abyss of space. Tear was mesmerized by them and the grip on her blankets loosened a bit, despite it not being any warmer out than it had been. For whatever reason, the coolness of the night air didn't bother her so much with him by her side like this. She'd never seen a look of compassion in his eyes before, and it made him look irresistably handsome. "...you can't expect to win if your allies all develop their own strategies. No one will know what their allies plan to do and therefore cannot expect to work together or aid one another in the heat of battle."

"I...understand," Tear replied, looking down. He could tell he'd made progress with her and looked over at her once more, sincerely hoping that he hadn't been too forceful or obvious with his approach; patience wasn't exactly his strong point and he realized that. "I normally don't let things like this get to me, so I'm sorry for dragging you out here like this. I just...wanted someone to talk to about it who would understand." Jade nodded, wordlessly condoning her actions as if to say that it was only natural. "Even though he was my enemy, he was also...my big brother." She had always used the phrase "older brother" in the past to refer to Van and therefore sound more professional, more detached...but she was using "big brother" now, which showed Jade that she was being painfully open with him and therefore didn't want to be ridiculed with sarcasm, just this once.

"And he always will be, no matter what he's done, good or bad. But sometimes unforeseen circumstances occur and extreme measures need to be taken to ensure the safety of the many regardless of the feelings of the few. You know that what you did was right."

She nodded. "I do, but I've also lost Luke in all of this." This was one point where she was _definitely_ being more forward and open than usual and it honestly took Jade by surprise. She'd never before openly admitted to liking Luke...

"You...haven't lost him," Jade lied. "He promised he'd return, so you know that if there's any way that he can, he will. He's very stubborn when it comes to these things," he added, trying to lighten her mood. "And even so, until he returns, you still have your memories of him." It was then that she worried that she was being selfish...she was seeking consolation in her grieving over Luke, who may very well return someday, from an old man who had always lived with such grief, and whose few hours of rest were surely precious to him. The guilt he lived with daily over the murder of his childhood mentor must've been eating away at him for years now; Tear wondered how on Auldrant he was still standing today.

So...they were both hurting inside right now...

Tear approached Jade more still, now so close that their arms were touching; was she finally getting cold, he wondered? "The pain dulls, but it never goes away, does it?" It almost struck her as a stupid question to ask now that she thought about it, but she couldn't take back what had already been said.

It was so slight, that if she hadn't been staring him intently in the eyes for a response, she would've missed it; he shook his head and confirmed her fears. His gaze didn't budge an inch. "People close to you will inevitably die..." 'And sometimes at your own hands or by your own fault,' he added mentally. "You learn to live with it in the field we're in...but I'm sure you've realized that by now. We're different from normal people; we can take lives without a second thought." She knew that this statement was completely unrelated to his supposed problem of not knowing the difference between life and death because she was a soldier as well. It wasn't that they didn't know the difference, but that they couldn't afford to care. If they held remorse for every life they cut short, they'd both have committed suicide over the grief years ago.

Tear wrapped her arms slowly around his arm, trying to be discreet about it, but failing miserably. They were hardened soldiers who had seen the worst the world had to offer and only wished to help each other through it...was it so wrong to want to dispel her Oracle Knight facade and simply be held? Just this once?

Jade jerked his arm a bit in her grip, trying to signal to her that he wanted to move it. Whether she took that as a sign that he didn't care for her attention or as a sign that he was willing to put his arm around her and comfort her as she was so silently requesting, he left up to her. She took the hint and promptly let go of his arm, keeping a steady downward gaze and waiting for him to do whatever it was he needed to do with his arm to make himself more comfortable. Lifting his arm backward out of her way so that it was no longer an obstacle, she took the opening as an opportunity and darted forward, latching herself onto his side. Her arms wound tightly yet gently around his waist. Then, he heard something that caught him by surprise again; she was crying.

Tear sobbed into his shirt, "I'm sorry, just this once, please..." It was choked with the tears of sadness that she'd locked in for so long because of her required military facade. He nodded and began petting the soft hair atop her head comfortingly. Given the air of the moment, Jade had no problem with consoling her like this for now, because he admitted that he would've given anything for moments like this when he was in the military at her age. Even more credit was given to her in his mind as she was female, and they tended to be much more slave to their emotions than men were. He had a lot of respect for her for enduring this long and for providing the mature guidance so many in the group looked to her for despite her being one of the youngest in their group.

He couldn't deny that he also had no qualms with this moment because he'd unwillingly attained a sort of fatherly feeling toward the entire gang throughout their journey (which coincidentally only solidified his decision to never have children) and felt slightly obligated to be there for her now. Not obligated in the way that he didn't want to, but in the way that if he kept his facade up and said nothing to console her, he'd feel downright terrible later. This fatherly feeling brought guilt anyway though as he ran his hand through her velvety locks...masculine feelings for her began to leak into his mind at the feeling of her breasts pressing against his side. It was a baser instinct that he could easily control at his age, so it wasn't a terribly urgent problem, but what he feared was that he established a connection with her that night that may last longer than it should have.


	2. Hide From Me

The Order of Lorelei was in disarray.

In the aftermath of the events preceding Luke's disappearance, the Order of Lorelei had lost its one key to power and precedence in Auldrant, the Score, and desperately wanted to maintain that authority. After all, no one would want to fall so far after having worked so hard to get somewhere. They had been the guiding light in this world; where would its people be today without the Order? Even when the Score had been debunked their followers continued to display their devotion, so they couldn't very well give upon those loyal individuals now.

They still had the Oracle Knights at their disposal however and they were being used accordingly. The religious group began dispatching them as missionaries of sorts to perform volunteer work around the world on their behalf. The soldiers would show up, help in any way they could with no expectations of appreciation or payment, and when asked about the status of the Order, to administer assurances that the Order was alive and well, and that all followers who were remaining faithful would soon be rewarded.

However, how could they expect to uphold their promises to their followers with no leader for them to follow? And so led Tear to her current situation...

Dressed in her old waitressing title from her adventures, Mystearica began setting tables in the meeting hall at Yulia City. When her time had come to present herself before the Order's higher-ups and be designated her new position in the organization, she was asked what some of her skills included. Unfortunately, when she mentioned waitressing in passing, they took it as the perfect idea and decided to designate her as their volunteer waitress until further notice. She had really regretted saying that aloud now...she didn't exactly enjoy serving people, even if the outfit did look flatteringly adorable...

The occasion Tear was preparing tables for was the enstatement of the new Fon Master. One of the Order's decrees regarding its reorganization of leadership was that the title of "Fon Master" itself would remain for consistency, but that the role of the Fon Master would change. When all the world leaders and their advisers had been called together to discuss who should be the next Fon Master, the vote seemed unanimous. As the new Fon Master, Anise Tatlin would be the face of the new Order of Lorelei, and with the help of her advisers (as she was still quite young to be a political leader on her own), be its voice as well.

The cobalt-eyed Oracle Knight sighed as she lost herself in her thoughts. She was happy for Anise, but _waitressing_? How far she had fallen... She shook her head slowly in disgrace. Hopefully, with the bond the two had established during their journey, Anise would have a heart and reassign her.

Suddenly, she felt a sniffle coming on so she headed for the bathroom.

---

Later that night, the enstatement party had begun and the whole room had been decked out for the occasion. Everything seemed to glow a radiant shade of gold and everyone in attendance was dressed extravagantly. Political leaders and their subordinates from around the world had attended the event, so there were famous faces wherever you looked. Tear was almost intimidated by the high-class glamor of it all.

They had decided to hold the enstatement at Yulia City because the Order wanted to emphasize their neutrality. They knew they no longer held any cards, so until they regained their former glory, the Order wanted to assure all political leaders that they would assist any of them anytime that they needed help. Also, by offering their unbiased loyalty to all powers, they were humbly admitting their lack of power; that their survival was dependent on everyone's support. Holding the enstatement ceremony in Daath would have only given the haughty impression of narcissism. Of course, in the end, how could the powers refuse the Order when most of their citizens were followers? This was a very delicate time for everyone.

Tear was now serving tables and waiting on people's food orders, trying to maintain stability with her sniffly nose. It had proven to be more of an inconvenience than she had previously predicted. It just kept running! Was she getting sick? She couldn't very well just throw in the towel now...even if she did have to keep running to the bathroom...this was a volunteer job and she was supposed to be representing the Order of Lorelei! Straightening up and refreshing her winning smile, she bowed before some new arrivals.

"What drinks may I get for you?"

Just then, a familiar blond walked out of the kitchen in his waiter title carrying a tray of drinks. How had she not seen him earlier? Mystearica finished jotting down her customers' orders and jogged to his side, trying to keep a safe distance and not prove a distraction.

"Guy?"

At the sound of a female's voice, Guy jumped a little, but nothing on his tray seemed to have spilled. Maybe his phobia was doing a bit better now? Tear smiled at him and waved.

"Ah, Tear! How nice to see you, it's been a while! Waitressing, I see?"

"On behalf of the Order; since there have been no need for soldiers to service such a weak power, they've loaned us out as volunteers. Did his majesty send you or did you get invited?" She wanted to keep this conversation short; while she did want to catch up with her old friend, it was made clear during her training that it's highly frowned upon for waiters and waitresses to make small talk while they could be doing their jobs.

Guy arrived at his table and began serving the drinks skillfully while maintaining eye contact with Tear. He must've been here for a while now... Why hadn't she noticed him earlier? Maybe she was more off today than those sniffles let on... Absentmindedly, she scratched her irritated nose.

"A little of both, since I did help save Auldrant with you guys and everything... Normally I'm just Emperor Peony's Rappig caretaker, but sometimes he designates me odd jobs like this. So I guess I'm one of Malkuth's representatives?" he laughed.

Tear smiled. It wasn't very often that she had serious discussions with Guy, seeing as his gynophobia had always been pretty severe as long as she'd known him.

Just then, she noticed his slight hint. "One of them? Is there anyone else here representing Malkuth besides you and the Emperor?" she wondered with an adorably quizzical expression. She hadn't seen Peony yet, but knew without a doubt that he wouldn't have missed this event. It seemed that she'd temporarily forgotten about her rush to keep the conversation short...

"Might I actually get some more ice in mine?" a familiar brown-haired in a tuxedo queried, sliding his glass of liquor back toward Guy slowly. "If it's not too much trouble, Gailardia." The trademark grin said it all.

"Colonel Curtiss!" For some reason, perhaps because she was so caught off guard by missing yet _another_ former comrade in her state of malady, Tear's cheeks flushed.

Jade chuckled at her reaction and shrugged. "I don't see why you're so surprised to see me here."

"He's right; you haven't forgotten that Jade has always been Emperor Peony's right hand man, have you? That doesn't seem like you," Guy commented, scratching the back of his head worriedly. "You're usually as on the ball as he is."

Jade grinned wider as Guy pointed in his direction.

"It's not that I forgot!!" Why was she feeling so frustrated by this? The blood rushing to her cheeks began to make her feel somewhat lightheaded and she grew increasingly anxious as she struggled to keep her mind focused on the conversation. "I just haven't seen him out of uniform is all... I-I need to go fill these orders..."

Without warning, she darted back to the kitchens.

Guy and Jade both knew full well that she'd seen him in at least four other outfits on their journey, so they were somewhat bothered by this. Why was she trying to make up excuses?

Guy collected Jade's glass and replaced it on his tray. Turning to the Necromancer, the blonde asked, "You noticed too, right? Do you think she's okay?"

Taking his glass from Guy's tray for a quick second to steal a sip before the ice was added, the colonel nodded firmly.

"Tear's a smart girl, I'm sure that if it was anything serious she'd have told us. By not saying anything about it, she was probably trying to keep us from worrying over nothing," he lied.

"You're right," Guy smiled. "It's probably something really small that's causing a little more stress than she expected. If she ends up needing help with it later, I know she trusts us enough to ask."

After another affirming nod from Jade, Guy headed back to the kitchens with the glass.

---

To give the staff a chance to relax and enjoy the occasion, the tables were cleaned up and put away after dinner to clear the floor. Music was put on and the tall hall was filled with hypnotizing melodies to dance to. It was at this time that the staff was also permitted to change out of uniform, but Tear was so weary from the sheer length of the day so far that she didn't quite feel up to changing her outfit. It wasn't long before her first partner approached her and requested a dance; it was her grandfather.

"I hope the waitressing wasn't too demanding of you tonight," Teodoro said as they danced. "I am sorry that it was the only job they could think of to give you..."

Tear smiled and scratched her nose. "Thank you for the concern grandfather, but I'm fine. It wasn't so bad." Feeling another itch at her nose that a simple scratch wouldn't satiate, she sighed and stopped dancing. The Oracle Knight bowed in apology and asked to be excused to the bathroom.

"Your voice sounds awfully nasal tonight, are you coming down with something?" Teodoro placed a concerned hand on her shoulder.

Beginning to see stars cloud the outskirts of her vision, she bowed again and reassured him that she was fine before power walking toward the restrooms. Upon arriving, she blew her nose and held her head. The night wouldn't be much longer...then she could go to bed and wake up tomorrow morning with all those pesky symptoms gone. She was positive this was just one of those days. She'd be fine as soon as she got some rest. How much longer could the ceremony continue anyway? She could make it until the end!

Nodding to herself in the mirror with an air of seriousness about her that could even lead one to believe that she was sealing an blood pact, she marched proudly out into the dance hall again only to see the cutest thing in the world. Her cheeks became rosy and her breath caught in her throat at the very sight.

Anise was in an adorable pink gown with one gloved hand on an emerald-haired boy's shoulder and the other in his gentle grasp while Florian's other hand rested nervously on her waist. They were dancing slowly and clumsily as if they had never danced before, let alone with a member of the opposite sex; their faces were bright pink from forehead to chin. They made such a cute couple!

Tear's hands had found their way up to her mouth, covering it in astonishment at the picturesque moment. All she could think was, 'So cute!'.

"Young love," said a proud voice from her left. Gasping at her carelessness, she cursed her not-so-secret weakness for cute things and looped her gaze from the couple to the reflective flooring, and back up to meet the gaze of whoever successfully snuck up beside her. Her blush remained strong when her cerulean irises met ruby ones.

Bowing low before her and looking up into her eyes from over the rims of his glasses, Jade continued, "I apologize for startling you, but I was wondering if you'd give me the honor of dancing with you?"

She was about to ask why, what the catch was, when she second guessed herself. She didn't want to come off as irritated by his presence; she was still representing the Order. It might come off as the Order of Lorelei being irritated by the presence of Malkuth. But if she just said no, then he may think her sore at him, which led to the same issue. Saying yes in her condition wouldn't be smart either considering that he was one from which people like her could keep no secrets. How on Auldrant could she dodge this question and retain the secret of her illness?

Jade straightened from his bow and extended his hand to her. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that he'd been drinking or not, because from what she could tell and had heard, he held his liquor well, but his eyes absolutely glistened in the dim, golden lighting of the hall. The normally bloodlike shade of red that tinted his eyes now looked much less raw and so much more soft and compassionate. Just looking into them now made her smile warmly. One more dance wouldn't hurt, right? Then it'd probably all be over and she could finally rest...

Wordlessly, Tear curtsied and placed her hand in his as he walked them out to the floor. At first, it was very difficult for her to look up into his eyes and acknowledge that the hands that so gently held her now were those of the infamous Jade Curtiss. In battle, he was so rough and ruthless that he'd earned the Necromancer stigma and was feared by all who so unfortunately found themselves on the opposing end of his mighty spear or powerful Artes. Even the God Generals, some of the toughest soldiers in Auldrant, had feared him and saw him as an unsurpassable threat. But now...

As her body swayed in perfect synchronization with his and the long hair of the two dancers wisped back and forth in time with their movements, he didn't seem like a brutal soldier to her or even like the sarcastically cold-hearted colonel that had traveled with them for so long. He seemed human now; he seemed just like her, as he had on that night not so long ago...

"Thank you again, for your help that night," Tear began, looking away from his blush-inducing gaze and using her trailing thoughts as fuel for the metaphorical conversation train that was still so helplessly docked in its station. She sincerely hoped that he remembered their rendezvous as well and knew what she was referring to.

"Of course, it was the least I could do," he assured her. He almost seemed _too_ nice and she was tempted to ask him what he was trying to hide from her, but shrugged off the thought. It wasn't proper to think so accusingly of him when they'd been through so much together! Even if he had thrown more than his share of biting comments toward her during their quest, she realized through his supportive actions that night that underneath his facade he really did care about them, and most of all, that he understood her feelings. She didn't even feel like Luke truly understood her sometimes.

'...Luke...'

Her lowered gaze became downtrodden as well at the thought of her lost love and she began to feel dizzy again just from watching the movements of their twirling feet beneath them. The hues of their shoes almost seemed to blur together and her focus slipped long enough for her to stumble on his feet clumsily. She was able to catch herself before she fell, though, and tried desperately to regain her composure. She wasn't tired or anything, but she definitely seemed to be afflicted by weariness...

Tear's eyelids drooped a bit as her cobalt irises rose to meet a worried crimson gaze. Jade? Worried? She had to keep herself from cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

The worry didn't last long, however, as his stern military visage returned and he continued their conversation. "I apologize if I tripped you up just now... As you can imagine, I don't do this very often." He was being so unusually apologetic...was he trying to get something out of her? ...He knew that she wasn't feeling well, didn't he...?

Not that she'd be able to tell, of course. Curse his eyes... Sometimes she wondered if his eyes' ability to not only refuse to betray his own feelings, but to also be able to see into others', was a fortunate sideeffect of his Fonic Sight.

"No, no...the fault...was all mine..." At this point, she wasn't even sure what to say. She mentally debated on whether or not to admit to him that she wasn't feeling well and she had no idea what she wanted to think.

"I'm surprised you even asked me, really. I wouldn't have pinned you as the dancing type." Ah, there! If she could just maintain that composure just a little longer...

"As I said, I'm normally not, but the way you looked at Anise and Florian gave me the impression that you wanted to dance as well but lacked a partner."

She wanted to tell him that she'd had Teodoro, but suddenly felt so very warm...was it getting hot in here or did it just seem that way? In an attempt to make things go a little faster and to provide a breeze, Tear tried to lead Jade into a somewhat quicker dance pace. However, being much smaller than him, she failed and succeeded only in tripping herself over his feet again. As she tripped, her foot landed in an odd and unstable position causing her not only to spin on her heel so that her back was to Jade, but also crash toward the floor.

Mystearica braced for impact but found herself caught in the nick of time and pulled safely up against Jade's chest. A few nearby dancers backed away from the commotion but kept their eyes glued to the pair, like curious bystanders to a disaster. Skillfully, his arms had wrapped themselves around her waist in the catch as opposed to any more inappropriate places he could've grabbed in his haste.

Once he ensured that she'd regained her footing, he released her and she thanked him quietly, trying not to restore eye contact with him. This was so embarrassing! The blush across her features only served to heighten the hot temperature she was feeling and she raised a hand to shield her face from him as she headed toward the bathroom. She felt another sneeze coming on...

"Excuse me..."

Of course, being the gentleman that he was, Colonel Curtiss wasn't about to let a lady excuse herself from his company when he knew that she was hiding something dire from him. Pursuing her, he grasped her fleeing upper arm as firmly and gently as he could. Her free hand raised to cover her leaking nose and her head whipped around to glare at whomsoever had stopped her only to find herself face to face with her dance partner once again.

"I haven't been feeling very well today, please excuse me," she calmly repeated in a hushed tone.

"I've got a handkerchief you can use," he said simply, leading her out of the hall rather than releasing her arm.

Once they reached the deserted corridors outside the meeting hall, Tear jerked her arm from his grasp more roughly than she should have and kept her nose, which was already starting to drip, covered with her other hand. "Why didn't you just let me go blow my nose?"

He silently handed her the aforementioned handkerchief with one hand and once she took it, only replying, "Pardon my forwardness."

She looked at him both accusingly and quizzically; what was he talking about? She didn't have time for this! As she raised the handkerchief to wipe her nose, his other hand reached out and slid itself gently along the back of her neck. Her eyes widened at the random instance of contact and her already thoroughly heated face blushed more furiously, unsure of his intent.

"Just as I thought," he announced, removing his hand, "you've been waitressing and dancing when you should be resting. You've got a dangerously high fever, Mystearica." He wasn't trying to lecture or be accusing; he was being completely serious, indicated by the fact that he was using her full first name. Jade was honestly worried about her as he only took the time to scold those he cared for...and knowing that did nothing to relieve her flushed features. She just turned her head downward with an ashamed gaze and felt her eyelids become heavy once more.

"I'm sorry for worrying you. But as a representative of the Order of Lorelei, I couldn't very well have just said that I was unable to serve them at the most important event of their reestablishment _and_ miss Anise's enstatement as well!" she cried, desperately trying to justify her actions.

"You're making excuses. You know as well as I that all illnesses can be dangerous, no matter how small. How well would you have been able to serve your precious Order today if you had indeed passed out in there while waiting on tables or while dancing?" She just shrugged, giving in to reason; she wasn't in the mood to be chewed out for a lapse of judgment because in the end, she knew that he was right anyway.

"I know... I'm sorry." There was nothing else she could think of to say. Her surroundings were beginning to blur on her again and the stars returned to the edges of her vision. She wished everyone would just go away and let her sit down to rest for a few minutes...just a few...

Noticing that her condition wasn't improving and she was making no move to do anything about it herself, Jade continued being forward. "I'll carry you to your room. I can't very well let you go by yourself and run the risk of you passing out on the way with no one around to help."

At this point, any idea that included her getting to rest was sounding good. Blindly nodding, she was expecting him to turn around and let him piggyback her to her room, as Luke had done for Ion so many times on their journey, only to find herself being scooped up into his arms. The sudden rush of movement caused more fluxuations in blood flow to her head and her vision blanked out for a second during the adjustment. Wanting nothing more than rest now, she closed her eyes and let her body relax itself in his arms. Soon she would be in bed and she could finally get some rest...

A slight whimpering sound escaped her lips absently as he carried her off, so he glanced down at her to make sure she was still doing okay. Her eyes were closed, her face was flushed, and her forehead was beading with sweat from the heat of her fever. He was half surprised that she didn't say anything about him normally avoiding anything that involved lifting, having usually been successful in getting the other men in their party to do his share of that on their quest. But then again, he also half wasn't; if she'd had this fever all day long as he assumed she had, then he was only surprised that she was as levelheaded as she had been with him while dancing no more than ten minutes ago. She was indeed very dedicated.

It didn't take long for them to reach her room where he slowly laid her down on her bed and promptly left. Oh how glorious it was, Tear admitted, only semiconscious at the time. Not too long ago, she was willing to allow the torture on her body to continue; to keep struggling until the end of the night and not disappoint her superiors. But now that she was laying in her bed, her oh so welcoming bed, she was feeling much better. The soft blankets felt like clouds hugging the contours of her lithe form and the comfy pillow beneath her head felt like the fluffiest marshmallow.

Snuggling up and getting comfortable, she almost completely fell asleep. She was, however, awake enough to hear Jade's footsteps reenter the room. Tear was too disoriented to open her eyes or speak, but when she felt him place the cold compress on her forehead and pull the covers over her exhausted body, she mumbled, "Thank you, Jade..." She'd used his name rather than his title this time. "I promise I won't make you do anything like this for me ever again...just this once..." With that, the Oracle Knight was out like a light and Jade was left with only his thoughts to accompany him.

He would've thought that she'd learned from what he'd told her at their last meeting; she shouldn't try to take so much on herself. He took no joy in repeating himself... Even after their journey together, she still kept an emotional distance from all of them. He understood that she was raised to bravely shoulder everything herself, because he had been as well, but after their quest, the six of them had undeniably formed an unbreakable bond. If she ever needed help, she knew that they were all there for her, didn't she?

Whether they liked it or not, they were all friends bonded for life...and that was definitely an uncharacteristic admittance coming from the Necromancer of all people. He never thought he'd become this close to anyone other than Peony or Nebilim in his lifetime...but he was already set in his ways and had a reputation to uphold.

While he was willing to admit that he was their friend, he wasn't willing to share his burdens with just any of them...so he was still guarded too. Jade delicately moved some stray hair from Tear's porcelain face and looked on with a tinge of guilt. How could he expect her to confide in him and the others when he wasn't willing to confide in them either? Perhaps that was why she was so apprehensive? She wasn't a stupid girl by any means; she was almost as good at reading people as he was because they were both raised similarly, so he wouldn't put it past her to have been able to pick up on that.

In the end, though, all he could do was try to make the journey with her. They both had something to learn about trusting in others, and perhaps they could help make each other's journey a little easier.


End file.
